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After my cats convinced me that my fish tank did not belong on the floor, I decided to put it in front of a window. That way they'd have nice view and light during the day, soak up some good old Vitamin A, and then get some rest in the dark of the night. WRONG AGAIN!
It turns out that direct sunlight is not good for your fish because it accelerates the growth of unwanted algae. Also, cycling from day to night and back to day can cause dramatic changes in the water temperature, and temperature control is critical! Artificial light can also cause an algae buildup, so 8-10 hours a day of light is plenty. Might get a timer.
With the window location nixed, the only other place in the house for the tank left the fish in the dark most of the time. Not too good for my viewing and relaxing pleasure, so I'll need some light.
No problem. I found that fluorescent lighting best served this purpose. And, before I could start thinking about how to "rig" it up, I found some other good advise. Buy a pre-built light/hood combination. This not only provides a light source, but also stops the fish from jumping out and the cats from jumping in.
Problem solved! Well, not quite (here's one of those complications I mentioned in the introduction). If I want to put real plants in with the fish I need different lighting. OK, I thought, I'll use the lighting that will help the plants grow.
After a few more minutes of web surfing I found out that that idea wouldn't work -- fish don't like bright lights, plants do like bright lights. Also, if I wanted to get more exotic (saltwater) more special lighting will be needed.
An old saying quickly popped into my head -- KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid!), and I decided on a normal lighting hood, and no plants -- for now.
Oh yah, I still had to find another location. The place I wanted didn't have an electrical outlet at hand, and my wife didn't like my idea of decorating the floor and walls with pretty orange cords. Go figure.
I have a lot of the "complicated discussions" book marked so I can continue the research if I finally add real plants, and I'll give you these sources later in this article.
Click To Keep'm Cozy. While Let's Get Some Fish will get you back to the start.
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